Yesterday I ran into a Facebook post in one of the wedding groups I'm in. A bride wrote,

"I don't think I want to wear makeup on the wedding day.

Like any at all.....

I don't wear it much at all anymore. I wore some mascara and lipstick for the first time in 6 months on Xmas.

I want to be free to cry, kiss, and eat without worry or fear of makeup smearing or needing to be reapplied.

Anyone else feel similarly?

Or would I regret not wearing makeup in photos/videos?"

Most of the comments encouraged going for "light makeup" or a "no makeup makeup" look. They talked about "just a little bit of blush and mascara" or bringing extra lip gloss just in case. A makeup artist commented,

"From my experience with brides that have had the same concerns and feelings, I’ve always recommended to do 'natural makeup'. Waterproof mascara, a tinted moisturizer or light foundation/ or spot concealing. Applying minimal cream blush & contour.. keeping everything cohesive but glowy and bright."

As I read through the responses to this bride, I was a bit bothered that so many people seemed to ignore her main point:

She said that she didn't want to wear it.

I couldn't help but think about the pushback I got when I mentioned not wearing makeup on my own wedding day. Despite the fact that I hadn't worn makeup since high school, and wasn't interested in wearing it for wedding day, some of my vendors asked me about it leading up to the day, and even pressured me to consider it when I told them I wasn't planning on it. At the time, it bothered me, but I simply ignored it and moved on. However, now that I'm a wedding vendor myself, I feel like it's important that I say something.

If you're running into the same issues, trying to decide whether to wear it or not, here's a few reasons I didn't:

I wanted to be able to eat, drink, and kiss without mess

Weddings are not photoshoots. You're doing more than just sitting there looking pretty — you want to spend time with your friends and family, enjoy the (typically very expensive and hopefully amazing) meal you planned, kiss your partner whenever you want, and dance the night away without worrying about makeup smearing or getting places it shouldn't. I wanted to enjoy our wedding day fully and felt like wearing makeup would impact my ability to do that.

I don't like how it feels

I haven't worn makeup since my junior year of high school, and I knew that if I wore it on our wedding day it would bother me, and distract me from being able to actually experience it without having makeup at the back of my mind.

I'm used to how my face looks — and like it!

When I first stopped wearing makeup, it took some time to get used to my face without it. But after giving it some time, I learned to appreciate my face, without any extra "enhancements" or changes. I got used to seeing myself in the mirror!

I wanted him to recognize me

Again, I don't wear makeup — not even for church, date night, or other people's weddings. So wearing it — even a "natural look" with "just a little blush and mascara" would have altered the way my face looks. I wanted him to remember me on our wedding day, not just think about how different it was to see me with makeup.

I trusted our wedding photographer

One of the #1 reasons people are constantly told to wear makeup on their wedding day is because "it will photograph better." As a wedding photographer myself, I can definitively say that I have never once worked on a wedding gallery and thought, "these would have looked better if they had just worn some makeup." In fact, I personally believe that bad makeup/makeup you're uncomfortable in is much more likely to impact your wedding photos negatively than wearing none at all. I knew that our wedding photographer would not be bothered if I didn't wear makeup, and that our photos would turn out just fine. (and I was right, btw!)

The bare faces of the men in my life are good enough

It can be really hard to not wear makeup to formal events, as a woman in our current society. After almost a decade without wearing it, I've learned that fewer and fewer people notice and care — but weddings are a situation where it is still very much pushed. There are few other situations I've seen that pressure women to wear makeup as much as wedding days! But what I've used to stay grounded is this mindset: if his bare face is good enough for this event, so is mine. And on my wedding day, my husband didn't need makeup. My dad and brother didn't need makeup. And I didn't need makeup either, if I didn't want it. Any argument I was given ("you'll need it for your photos, your features won't stand out") had to go through that defense I had built for myself: If he needs it too, it's a legitimate argument. But if the argument is only being used against me, it isn't.

My face is good enough.

At the end of the day? The most important reason that I didn't wear makeup on my wedding day was because I knew that my face — without adjustments or enhancements or anything else — is good enough to wear to my own wedding.